January 11, 2012

The Future Is Upon Us: Wireless Car Charging

If switching to electric cars weren't enough of a change to how current transportation exists, how about if those vehicles charged wirelessly?

Qualcomm introduced Halo at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show on Tuesday. This new technology wirelessly charges an electric vehicle through inductive transfer.

The technology uses magnetic resonance to couple power from the Base Charging Unit (BCU) to the Vehicle Charging Unit (VCU), which are part of the vehicle charging system.

Power is transferred to the VCU pad through magnetic coupling, which is used to charge the vehicle's batteries.

Qualcomm's technology also opens up the doorway to dynamic charging, which is charging a vehicle while its driving.

Dynamic charging takes away the driver's burden of needing to stop while traveling long distances. Qualcomm said the future of dynamic charging relies on a transport system where licensed operators built a network similar to how wireless communications networks have been deployed.

The technology would need to be integrated into one or more lanes of main roads and highways, allowing drivers of the vehicles to drive and charge at the same time.

Qualcomm said in order to get the ball rolling on this technology, standardization needs to be made to ensure customers do not have to search for a charging station that works with their particular vehicle.

"The more charging opportunity, at home, at the office, at all the places we park, the more confident customers will be about the electric vehicle driving experience," Qualcomm said.